FC Halifax Town: Mixed news on the injury front for Shaymen

Tom Scargill

Town boss Jamie Fullarton says he is not expecting injured trio Michael Duckworth, James Berrett and Jordan Preston back for the FA Cup clash at Morecambe on Saturday.

Defender Duckworth has an ankle injury, midfielder Berrett is out with a leg problem and attacking midfielder Preston has a muscle strain.

“Michael went over on his ankle against Warrington because of the camber of their pitch, early in the first-half, and played on without us knowing, which is great credit to Michael. Whether it was the best thing to do I’m not so sure, but he’s back doing some light jogging,” said Town boss Jamie Fullarton. “But he won’t be available for Saturday.

“Jordan came off against Warrington, and at this stage, isn’t close to returning on Saturday, but these things could change, and we’ll look at that one again come Friday.

“James Berrett had what is commonly known as a dead leg, twice over, which resulted in pressure through the swelling, and he’s had two spells in hospital over it.

“He had keyhole surgery to make sure the bleeding had stopped, and it wasn’t anything more serious.

“He will be seeing a specialist on Friday, who understands not only the injury, but how he can relate it to sport which will give us a better idea of timescale and process, because it’s very unusual.”

“Some positive news regarding Ben is that he won’t miss the full season,” Fullarton added.

“Scans, from my own experience, give a greater indication on what’s wrong. Not until you go into the area do you really fully know.

“His cruciate was intact, although some fibres were damaged, which suggests a shorter time out.

“He’s already doing some work. It’ll still be a reasonably long recovery, but he won’t be out for the rest of the season, which is great news for us, because we’ve missed him over the last couple of months.